Football



H. R. HART March 31. 1 925.

FOOTBALL Filed Jan lui/Senior.'

Jfenizy.

y ZJ

Patented Mar. 3l, 1925.

UNITED STATES HENRY RIDGEWAY HART, OF MONTGLAIR, NEW JERSEY.

FOOTBALL.

Application led January 10, 1925.v Serial No. 1,620.

To all whom t may] concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY It. HART, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Montclair, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Footballs, of which the following is a speci- Iication.

My object is to provide a foot ball which will facilitate more accurate and rapid play, by enabling the players to handle the ball with more certainty and more quickly posi` tion the ball for any intended play than is r possible with balls as heretofore construct-ed.

The ball is shown in the accompanying drawing in which Fig. l is a side elevation and Fig. 2 is an end elevation in cross section.

The balls used in the present day games, such as football, basketball, volley ball, etc., consist of an outer cover of leather, canvas or other material. A bag or bladder made l of rubber is placed inside the leather covert!" ing through an opening, which, when the bladder is inflated is laced, tightly together', entirely covering the rubber bladder. The leather, or outer cover thus giving protection to the rubber bladder and also necessary weight and strength to the ball itself when inflated and ready for play.

My present object is to provide a ball with whirh play will be made faster by enabling the players to handle the ball more quickly and with more accuracy than is possible with balls as heretofore construt-ted.

In carrying out my invention, I provide an outer cover with two openings, these be- 'W ing located at diametrically opposite points;

the outer cover of the ball thus balances it so that its flight through the air in the given direction will be rendered certain, each opening` being` of about equal length and with lacings of about equal length and weight and are used identically as the lacing of the present ball except there being two instead of one.

These lacings andV openings on opposite sides of the ball not only balance it in flight but act as hand or finger holds for throwing the ball. The ordinary bladder can be used; or one with two stems or valves opposite each other, or at each opening, in which. case, if either valve develops trouble the other one can always be used, thus giving double service.

For the gaine of football it is customary in making a drop kick for the player to turn the ball in his hand until the lacing is in position to afford him a grip, as well as to position the ball and this adjustment of the ball can; be more quickly accomplished by having two lacings both of which will be brought into position to provide hand holds, one at each side and Without turning the ball to the extent otherwise required.

The hand holds come into use in other games such as basketball and volley ball. 70 The two lacings also render it possible to take up slack in the cover more evenly than when oneV lacing is employed.

In balls as heretofore constructed the unbalanced feature lies in the outer case itself with the one lacing. With my construction employing the two openings with the two lacings this unbalanced feature of the ball is removed.

The openings in the cover are shown at 1 1 and the lacings at 2,

I claim:

l. A foot ball having a bladder, and a cover therefor with openings at diametrically opposite points with a lacing at each opening for closing the same, substantially as described.4

2. A foot ball comprising a bladder with filling valves at diametrically opposite points thereof, and a cover having openings at diainetrically opposite points with. a lacing for each opening, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

HENRY RrDGEwAv HART. 

